Israel SC upholds conviction for Palestinian teen's murder

Jerusalem: Israel's supreme court on Thursday rejected an appeal by three members of a Jewish gang convicted of kidnapping, beating and burning alive a Palestinian teenager in 2014.The decision upholds life sentences for two of them and a 21-year jail term for the third over the chilling attack that was part of a spiral of violence ahead of the 2014 Gaza war. Israeli settler Yosef Haim Ben-David was convicted of leading the assault on Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, that shocked Israelis and Palestinians alike.The two others have not been named since they were minors 16 at the time of the crime. Ben-David, whose claim of insanity was rejected, was 31 when he was sentenced to life in May 2016. Ben-David had previously claimed to be the"messiah,"but judges ruled that he was mentally competent. They said that at the time of the killing he was"in full command of his faculties ... and that the mental issues he suffered from"did not mean he was not responsible for his actions, according to a justice ministry statement on the ruling. (AFP)

Khartoum: President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday said that Khartoum and Moscow have agreed on a programme to boost Sudan's military capabilities. In an address to army officers and soldiers in the Red Sea town of Port ..

Khartoum: Sudanese security agents seized the entire print-runs of three newspapers on Thursday after they covered food price protests in Khartoum and other towns, their editors said. Opposition groups have ..

Reuters BEIRUT/JERUSALEM A US envoy has assured Lebanon that Israel does not seek an escalation between the countries following a surge in hostile rhetoric, Lebanese and Israeli officials said on Thursday. The ..

Reuters BENGHAZI A Libyan commander wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over a series of summary executions was released on Thursday, a day after handing himself in to military authorities in eastern ..

Reuters UNITED NATIONS Most armed groups involved in human smuggling and trafficking in Libya have links to the country's official security institutions, sanctions experts said in a confidential report to a UN ..